Amber Davies, Corbin Bleu, Jamie Muscato, and Frances Mayli McCann on bringing 'The Great Gatsby' to London

The Great Gatsby’s stars explain why the Roaring Twenties classic is a timeless tale — and soon to be the West End's biggest party!

The Great Gatsby was the talk of the town when it opened on Broadway a little over a year ago in a new musical adaptation by Kait Kerrigan (book), Jason Howland, and Nathan Tysen (music and lyrics). Now the show has transferred and found a home at the London Coliseum in the West End, it’s clear that the party is just getting started.

“I don't think there's ever been anything quite as big or lavish or opulent in the West End,” speculates Jamie Muscato, the musical’s London Gatsby. “The show is massive. We have two working cars that drive on stage, there are huge set pieces that fly in, fly out, and come up from the ground, as well as an 18-piece orchestra.”

Set during the decadence and disillusionment of the Roaring Twenties, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal novel about the pursuit of the American Dream, the tension between old and new money in a classist society, and fragile love squandered by selfish people is brought to the stage by director Marc Bruni, who Muscato praises for his collaborative style of working. “He gives us an outline and then lets us shade in the colours.”

The musical theatre star, known for his leading roles in Heathers, West Side Story, and Moulin Rouge!, was Olivier nominated for his turn in another fresh Broadway transfer — Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 — which opened to rave reviews at the Donmar Warehouse in 2024. Except for a short holiday in Iceland between the two jobs, Muscato hasn’t had long to prepare for the transition from the dark and dangerous Anatole, to the mysterious Gatsby. “They’re completely different people, but they’re both quite obsessive and problematic, and that centres around a woman.”

Muscato watched the Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert Redford film versions of Gatsby as part of his preparation, although he’s keen to offer a fresh take. “I’d quite like to tap into Gatsby’s weirdness,” he says. “It's easy to portray him as this suave millionaire, but nothing has come easy for him. He's clawed at everything that he's got.”

Muscato is joined on the Coliseum stage by an entirely new cast for the West End production, which includes Frances Mayli McCann as Daisy, Corbin Bleu as the narrator Nick, and Amber Davies as his feminist love interest Jordan Baker.

Davies, star of the Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5, Back to the Future, and Pretty Woman, was blown away by the cast and creative team, specifically her chance to work with West End royalty Rachel Tucker (Sunset Boulevard, Wicked, Come From Away), who plays Myrtle Wilson. “Rachel was the first Elphaba I ever saw. I was in school, in year seven or eight, and the industry was still a massive dream for me. I waited at stage door for her and she was so kind. My mum took a picture of us and it was my profile picture on Facebook for years — and now I’m working with her,” she laughs.

The former Love Island star has been following the show since the Broadway production blew up on TikTok. “Dominique Kelley’s choreography has gone viral for ‘New Money’ [...] that number is a production in itself. People should book tickets just to see that number,” Davies says. “It is so hard — I’ve had to work on my stamina. Not only am I dancing full out, but I’m singing up in the gods.”

Davies also says that there’s “no acting necessary” at times with her character Jordan. “She doesn’t like to be put inside a box, and I’m very much like that. I like my freedom. I like to have an opinion. She doesn't want to be tied down by a man. And she loves a party. Now, that is the thing most similar to me!”

As an expat living in London for the first time, Bleu feels similarly connected to his character Nick, an outsider who moves to Long Island’s West Egg after the war. “There are so many subtle differences [between the US and UK] that create these mini hurdles,” he says, recalling his first day in London when he was looking for a place to eat but couldn’t find his way because the street signs were on buildings instead of lampposts. “Finally I spoke to one of our company members and asked about the street signs,” he admits.

The Great Gatsby is a departure from Bleu’s stage projects in recent years. After breaking into theatre with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights in 2010, which “opened the doorway to my Broadway career”, Bleu has found a niche in vintage shows such as Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate. “These Golden Age musicals have a lock on my heart. I love the tone, I love the music, I'm very much an old soul, and I grew up watching Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire,” he says.

Bleu first showed off his flair for dance as Chad in High School Musical, a job which he is grateful for because of its wider impact on musical theatre, crediting the film trilogy for helping to “make musicals cool again”. His bravura skills stole the show in Kiss Me, Kate on Broadway when he tap danced on the ceiling, so it’s no surprise that he’s a little jealous not to be included in The Great Gatsby’s big tap number in the West End. “I’m on stage for it, but I’m not part of it. I’m going to have FOMO every single night!”

Nonetheless he is thrilled to be cast in a show based on one of his favourite novels. For Bleu’s 18th birthday, he was even gifted a first edition, which is one of his “prized possessions” and made the journey with him from LA to London. But how does he think British audiences will connect with this tale about the American Dream? “It’s a story about class, and that’s not something that’s at all foreign to a British audience,” he points out. “While it is an American classic, I think it's a story that can be completely relatable to just about anyone.”

Leading lady McCann agrees. “Everyone has that dream that they’re trying to pursue. People will find something that they resonate with, whether that be the themes, the characters, or the songs.” It also helps that the production design is exquisite, from the set to the costumes, of which there are nearly 300 pieces. “Linda Cho, our costume designer, won the Tony Award, and you can see why. All the costumes were made in New York, they sent them over, and we had a four-hour fitting. I’ve got something in every colour, all the shapes, and so many embellishments,” she says.

McCann also praises book writer Kerrigan, who has fleshed out the female stories in the musical. “I read the book once I got the job, and I was like ‘where’s Daisy?’ What’s great about this version is that the female characters have much more of a voice and more agency. I’m able to give Daisy a real journey throughout the story. I want you to root for her.”

Interestingly, McCann already has history with Gatsby. She starred opposite Broadway originator and musical theatre heartthrob Jeremy Jordan in a concert version of Bonnie and Clyde in 2022, another show which examines ill-fated lovers. “After the West End cast was announced, Jeremy messaged me and was like, ‘Stop copying me’,” she laughs.

McCann is thrilled to get a chance to put her stamp on this timeless tale. “It’s on London’s biggest stage, in London’s biggest theatre. It’s going to be a huge party,” she says. To coin a phrase from Fitzgerald, you’d be a beautiful little fool to miss it.

Book The Great Gatsby tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Main photo credit: Frances Mayli McCann, Jamie Muscato, Corbin Bleu, Amber Davies. (Editorial images by Matt Crockett, production images by Johan Persson)

This article first appeared in the May 2025 issue of London Theatre Magazine.